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After the success of the first Constitution Academy in 2018, International IDEA Myanmar held its second Constitution Academy last month. The programme took place in Pyin Oo Lwin from 27 May to 4 June 2019.

The weeks leading up to a major election are a frenzy of campaigning, speeches, and outreach events. Almost immediately after election day, however, the frenzy dissipates, and people forget about the results and carry on with their lives until the next round of campaigning begins.

International IDEA Myanmar’s MyConstitution programme is growing fast!

Dialogue is a process that helps stakeholders voice their interests and opinions in a non-violent way. There is no guarantee that stakeholders engaged in dialogue will reach agreement on divisive issues, but simply engaging in dialogue with each other may increase respect between participants and build a sense of inclusion over time, allowing for changes needed to create sustainable peace.  

Myanmar held credible national elections in 2015 and has followed up with well-run by-elections in 2017 and 2018. But despite these achievements at the national and state/region level, Myanmar has never held a municipal election with universal suffrage. Until 31 March that is.

When elections take place in countries transitioning from authoritarianism to democracy, from deep political crises to stability, or from war to peace, their significance is greater than usual.

While there are general principles that apply to the judiciary in all federations, there are different ways of structuring a federal judiciary and allocating authority, or competence, to it.

Each approach raises different issues for consideration and decision. The choices made can be informed by comparative experience but will depend on the context and preferences of each federation.

Since 2015, Myanmar has witnessed three elections - general elections in 2015 and by-elections in 2017 and 2018. Although the political will towards reform measures for better elections has increased dramatically since 2015, where people born after 1962 had a chance to experience genuine elections for the first time, for some areas within the democratic reform process, including campaign finance, there is still room for improvement.

Constitution-building processes are increasingly seen as critical elements within both peacebuilding and state-building processes.

Yangon is at a critical juncture on its path towards democracy as its administrative body, the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC), is preparing for the first ever fully democratic municipal elections in Myanmar early next year.

By-elections are of great importance to a representative and credible democracy as seats need to be filled to ensure the legitimacy and function of Myanmar’s various parliaments. On 3 November 2018, Myanmar held by-elections to fill the 12 vacant seats of three houses and levels (Upper House, Lower House, and State and Region Parliaments), plus the vacant position of the Shan Ethnic Affairs Representative in Mandalay.

This issue of Constitutional INSIGHTS examines the choice between making a new constitution and amending an existing constitution to achieve substantial constitutional change.

Federalism or devolution involves the organization of public power so that government, on at least two levels, is responsive and accountable to the people that it serves.

More than 25 countries around the world operate as a federation of some kind. Many more devolve power in other ways, either across the country or in particular regions with special autonomy.

This issue of Constitutional INSIGHTS deals with the questions presented by constitutional or legal arrangements that treat one region of a state differently from others.

Is democracy in decline around the world? If so, is it also the case in Myanmar? This year’s International Day of Democracy celebrations in Yangon were an opportunity to have broad ranging discussions on the state of democracy around the world.

This Constitution Brief introduces the concept of self-determination and its evolution over time, and provides a survey of different approaches to self-determination from comparative constitutional practice.

The MyConstitution project works towards a home-grown and well-informed constitutional culture as an integral part of democratic transition and sustainable peace in Myanmar.

Electoral system design plays a crucial role in political settlement processes.

However, it is a world with which political actors in transitions—and even to some extent the constitutional community itself—often have limited familiarity.

This Discussion Paper is based on a presentation by the author at the fourth Edinburgh Dialogue on post-conflict constitution-building, held in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, on 4–5 December 2017.

From Spain to Tanzania to Ukraine, the idea of secession is a critical issue for constitutional design, and has been since the first modern constitution was adopted in the United States in 1789.

Territorial divisions come in many forms. They occur in both federal and unitary states, and may involve divisions based on religion, language, history and identity, as well as natural resources.

International IDEA’s Constitution-Building Primers are designed to assist in-country constitution-building or constitutional-reform processes by helping citizens, political parties, civil society organizations, public officials and members of constituent assemblies make wise constitutional choices.